


In The Sauna

by skyeofdragons



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Blame the cartoon magic, Brainwashing, Canon Compliant, Cult Camp, Gen, Gwen (Camp Camp) - Freeform, How all this happens so quickly I don't know but it works, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Neil (Camp Camp) - Freeform, Nikki (Camp Camp) - Freeform, Nurf (Camp Camp) - Freeform, Recovery, Sauna, indoctrination
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-18 04:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11866260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyeofdragons/pseuds/skyeofdragons
Summary: A short idea on what happened to Max (and, by some extrapolation, the others) in the Cult Camp Sauna.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Characters other than Max (and, perhaps, Daniel- I leave that up to you) are mentioned only. They're there so people don't complain, and because I might make more chapters for other characters, if people are interested in the reactions and differences, or perhaps an epilogue dealing with the aftermath.

David had looked away, and Max made a break for it. 

This was a fucking stupid plan, was all he could think to himself as the yawning metal door of the sauna quickly loomed over him. But it was the only thing he could probably do to save this fucking stupid camp, and prove to David just what this wackjob really was.

It seemed some sort of mechanical piston thing, like the sort the cafeteria doors shut on, was what made the grey door close behind him, just like it’d closed behind Nikki and Neil. The fact it still knew when to close, somehow, made him shiver. If Neil wasn’t traumatized by whatever the fuck was in here, he’d probably enjoy dismantling it.

The door made a soft hiss as it sealed behind him, and in a brief moment of immediate regret, he turned back to the door, and almost made as if to run for an exit now gone. Grey light filtered through the steam, and as he looked around, he could barely see anything past it. Little to do but walk on.

It only took moments for the sticky, cloying heat to make him start to sweat, and he would have felt cartoonish, panting out steam-clouds, if it weren’t for how thick the stuff was in here. He waved his hand, and it was like warm fog-machine fog, swirling in the wake of his hand and then settling back into endless, shapeless puffs. He coughed a little and shook his head, and wandered in further.

It didn’t take long before the port in the door was entirely obscured, and grey light seemed to come from all around. He grabbed his sleeves. Something had to be here, right? Daniel’s words crept into his head unbidden. _Feelings beat facts, any day._

Paranoid eyes saw shapes in the swirls, and fear crept up his spine, leaving him a little too cold. He didn’t get scared- Nothing scared him, he… Nah, by all rights he definitely should be scared.

Finally, something solid formed out of the mist as he kept walking. How big was this place? Or was he just not walking quickly enough? He approached a long, low bench, perhaps a table, white and smooth and beaded over with gleaming drops of water. Spots along it were more or less beaded, he noticed, as he walked to it. Two small piles seemed fresh, almost untouched by the water collecting on the surface. He looked a little further down, and a small pile of clothes was laid out inside a little plastic bag, clear and dewed.

Max reached out and touched the bag, picked it up suspiciously, looked over it with a frown. Those were his clothes in there, dammit! All bleached and ugly now.

_“PLEASE CHANGE INTO THE CLOTHES YOU WILL BE TAKING TO ASCENSION,”_ came a voice from above, around, somewhere. Max snapped his gaze in the direction he thought it came from, and looked down at the clothes. He had to do this, one way or another he was screwed into it and dammit he’d be going through with this batshit plan.

He wriggled out of the now-dampened clothes he’d wandered in with, and into the dry, warm ones provided in the plastic bag. As he pulled the hoodie over his head, something fell out of the hood onto the ground, landing with a soft paf. Curious, and concerned, he picked it up.

A flower, shaped like a trumpet, perhaps, or a clarinet. Long and thin and white, with petals that arched out and drifted off in almost spider-leg tendrils. Little speckles trailed into the inside, where whatever those flower stick things were splayed out in five, like a little hand.

_“BREATHE DEEPLY OF THE FLOWER OF NEW LIFE, AND TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO ASCENSION.”_

God, what a fucking terrible routine. Of course it’d work on the sheep people were… But then again, he was going to do this too. He… Would never tell Neil or Nikki or any of the rest of those morons he’d fallen for it too. It’d be as bad as the teddy bear. Well, that weirdo magic kid always said you had to believe for this stuff to happen… Not really knowing how else to take Daniel-voice’s order, he stuck his nose into the flower and breathed in through his nose.

The little stamens brushed up on his nose and he pulled back coughing, wiping pollen and flower weirdness off his nose onto his sleeve. He looked up at the ceiling and waved the flower at it. “Hey, I breathed your st-...range flower, can we move on?”

_“WHAT ENTHUSIASM! I LOVE IT! NEXT, YOU MUST TAKE THIS FINAL MANTRA TO HEART, SO MAKE SURE YOU REPEAT AFTER ME UNTIL IT IS TRUE!”_

What the fuck kind of instructions were those? Max wondered, biting his tongue to not shout that at this stupid system. His nose tingled a little, and on the edge of hearing, he swore there was a weird humming to the recording.

_“I WILL NOT ALLOW NEGATIVE ENERGY INTO MY HEART. I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION. I WILL NOT LISTEN TO THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION. I WILL NOT DOUBT DANIEL’S TRUTHS. I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION...”_

God damn, what kind of hokey shit is this? How did he expect this to work on anyone? “I will not allow negative energy into my heart… What’s next?” He sat down on the bench. Hopefully that fucker Daniel would stall so he’d get to join in the ‘ascension’, surely the creepy cult leader would be looking for more... Who was he kidding, he was gonna die.

_“...I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION…”_

He squinted up at where the microphone must be. Was this just going to play on repeat until he got it right?

“I will not allow negative energy into my heart. I will do all I can to… Further my ascension.” The system didn’t seem satisfied. It was still going, and he was starting to get a headache, though why his head was aching, he couldn’t say why. All he was- a cynic, he was negative energy! How did this stupid system plan to get that out of him?

_“...TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION. I WILL NOT…”_

“I will not allow negative energy into my heart. I will do all I can to further my ascension.”

_People don’t want to think, Max._

His head jolted up at the sound. Was that in his head? Oh god please let it not be in his head. Or wait, would it be worse for Da… David? Was it David or Daniel? The fact he wasn’t remembering right started to make him panic. He wanted out, he wanted out! This was enough! They could all die he didn’t want to drink the kool-aid he was done he couldn’t do this he was gonna die he didn’t wanna die he was too young for that--

_They just wanna feel safe._

He wasn’t safe! He wasn’t anything close to safe! This was a bad plan, he fucked up! Please just let him out!

_Doesn’t the world seem awfully scary?_

“It does! I’m done with this and I wanna go home I don’t wanna die! Please! I don’t- I don’t actually want to die, or be brainwashed, I just wanted my friends back! Stop it, Daniel, do something!”

_What if I told you it didn’t have to be?_

“You- Fucking- You’re the cause of this shit! I don’t wanna be here anymore! Let me out!”

_“Let the negative energy out of your heart. Let’s try the mantra again. You are safe. You don’t have to fear.”_

The recording was softer, almost paternal now. At least, he thought it was a recording. It sounded so real, but listening to it made his headache go away, and anything was better than the terror. A soft sniffle, and he wiped the nose that was starting to feel a bit distant.

_“I need you to relax. Sit or lay down, however you’re comfiest. You are safe. Just repeat after me, and all the fear will go away.”_

It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be, right? He was feeling weird, now, almost floaty or uncertain. He didn’t much like it. Daniel said he was safe, Daniel was the counsellor, right? The one with the… Songs? Enthusiasm? He seemed happy, he knew what he was doing.

_“I will not allow negative energy into my heart. I will do all I can to further my ascension. I will not listen to those who do not understand. I will do all I can to further my ascension. I will not doubt Daniel’s truths. I will do all I can to further my ascension.”_

The voice was so soothing, so calm. He knew how to make the fear go away, he sounded so happy, so helpful and bright and untouchable. Max opened an oddly cottony mouth to repeat what he could remember.

“I will not allow- Negative- Energy into my heart. I will do all I can to further my ascension. I will not… Uh… Listen to…”

_“Those who do not understand. Go on.”_

“I will not allow negative energy into my heart. I will do all I can to further my ascension. I will not listen to those who do not understand. I will do all I can to further my own ascension. I will not… Doubt… David’s truths?” He felt fuzzy, warm, hazy, like when you just woke up. His headache was almost nonexistent as he focused on the good man’s voice, and as he repeated each line, that cynical little heart all chained up inside him started to feel a little less cold in the warmth of the sauna. It was so good and pure and warm, he’d missed the feeling.

_“Daniel’s truths.”_

“Right! Sorry.” And he really was sorry that Daniel had to correct him- that was so dumb of him! He was clever enough to remember. After all, he’d walked in right on his own! Best decision of his life. It was like victory, how he’d felt when David had broke down (that liar!), but not mean! He felt so warm and happy.

“I will not allow negative energy into my heart. I will do all I can to further my ascension. I will not listen to those who do not understand. I will do all I can to further my ascension. I will not doubt Daniel’s truths. I will do all I can to further my ascension.” The words flowed like pure water, sweet and bright, out of him. He could hardly remember why he’d been scared of coming in here in the first place! Without all that negativity he felt so light, floating, almost flying! A smile cracked his face and he began again, louder, with more of a long-shushed heart put into the words. 

“I will not allow negative energy into my heart! I will do all I can to further my ascension! I will not listen to those who do not understand! I will do all I can to further my ascension! I will not doubt Daniel’s truths! I will do all I can to further my ascension!” Oh! Every word was like a song, but not annoying! He just kept feeling lighter and lighter, brighter and brighter, like a star or an angel! His teeth were out in a grin in the grey light, but oh, how he was made of colours! The fog swirled, and he wanted almost to swirl with it, dancing on the clouds! What brightness and joy!

“I WILL NOT ALLOW NEGATIVE ENERGY INTO MY HEART!” He felt the last of all that hatred melt right out of him, melt away like the used-up wax of a gross old candle, leaving only the whispers of flame and light.

“I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION!” Was this it? Was this what it felt like to ascend, but better? This was the happiest he’d been his whole short life!

“I WILL NOT LISTEN TO THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND!” How could they? They didn’t know the truth! They didn’t know how it felt to be the colour in a grey world! They didn’t know the brightness and joy of these precious lessons!

“I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION!” This wasn’t even the next stage, the next level Daniel had mentioned! This wasn’t even ascension and he was flying already!

“I WILL NOT DOUBT DANIEL’S TRUTHS!” There was nothing to doubt! He’d felt it all! He’d really touched the heavens in this little miserable form, and soon he would know how next to achieve ascension! And certainly, he could tell Daniel of the others, those who didn’t believe- The Flower-scouts, and those poor, miserable Wood-scouts! They had to know! They had to know the truth!

“I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION!” Nothing mattered but Daniel- Nothing mattered but this ascension, this pure and beautiful joy!

The chant in the room changed to something else now. You are safe. Of course he was safe! He’d never been safer! Why, not only in body, but in that energy in his soul- Free of the negativity, he was flying! He could go anywhere, do anything, all thanks to Daniel! He wasn’t just safe, he was SAVED!

He rushed to the light that now shone, bright and beautiful, from that lovely outside world, that beautiful nature, those beautiful people, all out there waiting for him to join them in the ascension party. He hurried out, and, spotting Daniel, the good prophet, he almost teared up, but crying- why, that was a bad thing, and he had nothing bad left, just like Daniel.

He was still a little misty, a little soggy, but the vibrant colours all around and the vibrant joys resounding like a choir of angels couldn’t be contained. He had no way to thank Daniel, that shining angel in ivory and gold, for this gift, so he clenched his little fists, beamed, and cried out with all the love he had for Daniel, and the world, and all his dear, pure, believing friends:

“I love you, Daniel!”


	2. Epilogue / Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Daniel's camp chaos creation. Everyone wakes up, and eventually, things go back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done my best to not spoil it for those people who haven't seen the s2 finale. Written from a mix of perspectives, so hopefully it doesn't get too confusing.

The ambulance came and went. Gwen came back, and brought Jen with her. Jen was quickly stampeded out of camp by, of all people, the children, who quickly shouted her down and tried to catch and- Well, who-knows-what her. Most might have been cajoled out of their “Ascension Day Clothes” with some well-placed cheer, but they weren’t having any of this new “usurper”, as they cried. When she was gone, they all placidly returned to the camp, and sat around the cheerful party table, draped in clinical white, and talked idly about how they couldn’t wait for Daniel to come back, how terrible it was that so many people were yet under the influence of the terrible space negativity, how they hoped David and Gwen would come to their senses about everything and “be purified” and try to reach their ascensions.

Of course, Gwen was quick to dump the kool-aid and associated rat poison down the drain once she learned about it and caught Nurf trying to “take his own steps” to “Ascension”, only preventing a small uprising of children chanting “I WILL DO ALL I CAN TO FURTHER MY ASCENSION” with some well-placed bullshit about “Daniel needing to be there to guide them” and “things needing to be observed in proper ceremony” before they would calm down and listen.

They all ate dinner in silence, with Gwen looking noticeably unnerved by this, and David hardly cracking a smile at all.  
~  
The next morning, David decided to wake the campers, to see who all might be feeling better, and who still needed help after whatever Daniel had done to them in that sauna. He went tent-by-tent, and was greeted by cheerful and warm smiles all around, smiles devoid of personality, and each time he simply shooed them to the cafeteria for breakfast. Upon making it to Nikki and Nerris’ tent, however, when he popped his head in and gave the brightest of “GooooOOOOD MORNING!”-s, Nerris gave a yawn and stretch- and Nikki bolted upright, staring him in the face with a vague half-recognition and a good deal of confusion. Before he had time to offer anything else, she was screeching like the wild thing she was, and he backed out quickly before making a mad dash to the counsellors’ cabin with the wild girl after him. He almost made it, but was taken down just outside the door. 

“GWEEEEEEENNNNN,” he yelled, trying to free an arm from Nikki’s teeth. “GWEEEENNNNNN, HELP PLEASE?”

The half-awake counsellor opened the door out quickly, smacking poor David with it, and then she looked down to find her co-worker in the process of being clawed and bitten to death by the kid. She blinked, and opened her mouth to tell Nikki to let go, when the girl let go of her own free will and ran behind Gwen with wide, scared eyes. “It’s that cult man!” She hissed to the one in charge, giving a venomous glare to a hurt David. “Gwen, you have to kill him!” 

“Whoah there, Nikki,” Gwen said, helping David up. “You’ve got it backwards. This is the good one. I know it was fuckin’ freaky to see them both, but this is the original.” Nikki glared at the both of them now, and scurried back with narrowed eyes. 

“Prove it! How do I know you’re not all- Mlyeh?” She said, making a cuckoo-sign. 

Gwen blinked. “Uhh… Look over on David’s nightstand. There’s a picture of us all with that- Sparrow, uh, thing. He’s there. You remember that, right?” 

Nikki nodded, and scooted to the pointed-at bed. Indeed, there on the stand were all the campers, cheerfully posing (except Max, who was apathetically posing) with the bonfire in the background, and the trees and lake, too. 

She was satisfied with that, and gave a cheerful “Alrightie!” before returning to Gwen’s side. “Sorry for knocking the shit out of you, David.”

“It’s no biggie!” Laughed the redhead, brushing off dirt with a bright smile. “I’m just glad to see you seem alright! Say, why don’t you and Gwen get everyone else up, and I’ll check what the Quartermaster is making for breakfast today, huh?”

“Sure thing!” Came the enthusiastic reply, and Nikki hopped off to the tents.

Gwen stayed behind a bit. “David, you okay? Need a rabies shot?” She gave a wry grin, and David laughed. 

“Nope! One day I sure will, but not today!” He waved Gwen out, though once she was out, his face fell, and he turned to her wall mirror, looking at it sadly. So the kids thought he was Daniel now?...

The Quartermaster was making scrambled eggs and hash browns, and though David tried to get his permission to help, he was waved out by a frightening spatula-hand and had to wander out into the dining hall. Nikki was the only one awake as of yet, and was talking cheerfully to Gwen, waiting for the Quartermaster to bring out the tubs of scoopable food. The other kids were all at the other bench, talking to each other in hushed tones, apparently marginally worried about the absence of Daniel and why Nikki no longer wanted to sit with them.

After breakfast, during which David left most of the talking to Gwen, he caught Niel, Max, and Ered trying to wander out to the Purification Sauna again, an activity he had to dissuade them from with some on-the-spot explanations of “needing more firewood” and “special water”. Neil immediately walked in and began attempting to discover how the water needed to be treated for it to be purification-worthy, while Ered and Max each walked in different directions. A couple minutes later, Ered and Nurf were walking to the forest, Nurf with a hatchet, while Max was found to be lighting a fire in a tin can. David sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Nerris snapped out of it later in the afternoon, and immediately began a dramatic screeching that made Gwen dash over with all the speed of a late college student and shush her, then soothe the freaked-out elfkin. The Purified came around soon after, along with Nikki and David, and while Nerris shied away from the taller of the counsellors, she was soon returned to trust when both Nikki and Gwen vouched for him. Preston asked David whether they had enough firewood yet, and when he said no, the campers all left to gather up more.

Nerris, Nikki, Gwen, and David all hurried to finish dismantling the Sauna as soon as the Purified were off in the woods again.

That evening, shortly after dinner, a loud and joyous cheer from Nikki brought David and Gwen again running, only to find Ered allowing herself to be hugged by- and, more surprisingly than that, hugging back- the green-haired girl, seemingly all back to normal. Again, she reacted poorly to David, threatening to “call my dads on your freaky fucking cult ass”, though with three people all assuring her they were fine, she returned to merely the usual level of annoyance at the counsellors. After that was bedtime, and the remaining Purified all gave a unified good-night before shutting off their lights and sleeping. Those who were freed remained awake a while longer, watching with a certain horrified fascination the continued transfixion of their co-campers, before eventually heading out to bed.

The next morning, Preston was found to be awake and well, and as the previous ones had, he required some convincing that David was not to be feared or hated before he’d go near him again. The dining hall was much more even now, and this time, the remaining Purified all huddled much closer together, almost giving suspicious looks at the two counsellors.

With the few campers seemingly back to normal, David set up an activity for them, and guided them through how to make whistles out of willow slips. Nikki managed again to summon wolves out of the forest, and on one side of camp, a puppy-pile began (once Nerris convinced herself Nikki was some kind of druid, of course). 

On the other side, the Purified who remained had finished building a much less grand Purification Sauna, and stuck Gwen in it. Of course, it was mostly tree branches and mud, and while certainly the inside was filled with steam and too warm for comfort, there was no flower of new life, only a daffodil, and Gwen came out of it merely damp. That confused them- she wasn’t reacting to it? Did they really need Daniel there? They sat around it in a circle and chanted their mantra to her, hoping to get her to realize the truth, but the second time was no stronger in effect, and soon enough Harrison, too, had shaken himself free of the influence, and was quick to release Gwen.

Neil, the one obsessed with space at least, was free next, and was soon back to trying to get the others to send him off to the moon, loudly explaining it was a requirement, though nobody would listen. Dolf snapped out soon after, and offered instead they should paint the moon, so the two youngest did.

That night once again was peaceful, and the three who remained, in their minds, free of the negativity from space decided to share their tent “in case the others tried to force them out of the truth”.

Four days. Four days since Daniel had been whisked away on the ambulance, and three days since Nikki had tried to shred David alive. Two days since the other kids had started to wake up, and one since most of them had come back to their senses.

David checked in on the last three left in their dazed states. Nurf, Neil, and Max. While he was glad to see Nurf and Neil finally cooperating and being kind to one another, he wasn’t particularly glad to know why they were. As great as it was to see everyone happy for a couple days, the eeriness of the situation quickly had worn him down. Seeing them without personality like this made his heart hurt for them- and it was his fault, of course, for not listening to the kids who had been so worried about it all. Looks like sometimes they weren’t ALL trying to pull his leg, at least. He smiled, perhaps with a tinge of melancholy, at the three as they noticed him and looked at him in unison, faces brightening for a moment before falling as they apparently noticed it wasn’t that trickster Daniel.

Gwen came by with their dinners and shook her head at David. “Look, I’m sure they’ll snap out of it soon. Just give it another night, alright?” A small smile creased a tired and worried face, and David returned it. 

“Yeah. Sure thing, Gwen. I’ll bet toilet-scrubbing duty they’re all better by sunrise!” He laughed, trying to cheer Gwen as much as himself.

“You’re on,” she returned, before booting open the door and giving a bright, cheerful announcement of “HEYYYYY, DINNER!” to the dazed trio.

David looked down as he felt someone tugging on his shirt, and saw Nikki there, looking up with her bright eyes. Immediately, his cheerful face was on, and he bent down to be at eye level with the little camper. “What’s up, Nikki?”

“Are Max and Neil better yet?” She asked softly, pigtails dejected and down as he’d ever seen them. David sighed, and reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

“No, not yet, but they were last, so they’re probably going to be the last back. Why don’t you go scurry along and catch some squirrels before bed?” A chipper beam, and Nikki brightened considerably, nodding before scampering off to the trees. David straightened with a sigh. 

Glad it made sense to the kid, at least. Either she didn’t remember she was first to pop back, or she didn’t make the connection to herself, or… Something. He rubbed the bite mark on his arm from where she chomped him and shook his head, looking back to the trio one last time and hoping they’d snap out of this soon, and not just because of toilet scrubbing duty.

He walked around the area for an hour or so, checking for critters and Woodscouts, when a little electronic light of something in Neil’s tent got him to pop his head in. “Heyyyyyy, Neil! Feeling alright?” He beamed, hoping Neil was not trying to wipe Gwen some other way.

Neil, apparently coding something, yelped before throwing a calculator at him. It brushed over David’s poofy red hair. “Seems like it! Not that I think you’ll be outside enjoying the lovely sunset or anything, but remember to be in your tent by dark.” He beamed, and popped out again as a mechanical pencil narrowly missed where his nose had been. With the tent flaps closed, he immediately slumped. Curse that Daniel, making all the kids be afraid of him, or mad at him, or something. While he was glad it only seemed to last for the first few minutes they snapped out of whatever weird trance they were in, the fact that man had gotten them to fear him so… He shook his head. No good thinking about it! He had to remain happy.

Nerris, Dolf, and Preston were all gathered up enjoying (or not, in Preston’s case) the Quartermaster’s Dinner Burritos, while Ered was ignoring Space Kid’s entreaties to play rocket ships with the Dinner Taco shells. David sat beside Gwen and put his head down on the table. Gwen patted his back. He sighed.

“I just… I don’t want them to hate me forever, Gwen. What if they do?”

“They won’t. Nikki’s already all back to normal, seems like the others are getting there. Nerris hasn’t tried to throw a magic missile at you all day.”

“I suppose,” David sighed again, and straightened as Space Kid went running behind him, making ‘fwoosh’ space-ship sounds with a tortilla and taco shell. That made him smile. “Well, we’ve only got to wait for Nurf and Max to wake up, and then we’ll be all good again!”

On the dawn of the fifth day since Daniel had thrown the kids in the Purification Sauna, Nurf snapped out of it. He, of all the rest, seemed the most affected after it. Not only did he get a good punch in on David before everyone managed to calm him down, but when they did explain what had happened, he punched David a second time before shouting something about it “all being your fault” and running off.

He wouldn’t open up to anyone about why he’d shouted that, though, but as the day went on, breakfast to lunch to dinner, he seemed to go back to his normal, vaguely asshole-ish self, noogie-ing Preston as the whims came, much to the young playwright’s annoyance and suffering. Perhaps a little more withdrawn than before, but not by too much.

This left only Max, sitting alone in his corner of the tent he shared with Neil. His apparently vacant stare and soft, half-present smile made Neil uncomfortable enough to abandon tent, which gave Max the place to himself. The sunlight dimmed and Neil opted to spend the night in Harrison and Spacekids’ tent instead. Max’s tent-light did not turn off that night.

He, in his head, alone against the world, murmured the little mantra to himself, focusing on it. He just had to repeat it, believe, until Daniel got here. He- He had to keep believing in Daniel, had to keep believing Daniel wouldn’t just stop caring. He’d promised them all- Promised them a way to be happy. Promised them a big, loving family when they ascended. Promised… Promised people who cared. And he’d- He’d just have to believe, there just wasn’t another option. He was happy like this, when he wasn’t happy before. And damnit, he had a right to be happy- No! No nono, don’t think negatively. Don’t allow the- The negative- Dammit, don’t- No!-

He realized he was crying when a hot tear landed on his hand, and quickly he lifted a bleached hoodie-sleeve to his eye, wiping them away as his smile turned to a despairing grimace. Come back, Daniel, you promised you wouldn’t leave, you promised a place for all of us, a big family where we’d all be happy, you promised a home when we Ascended, something better than this stupid planet with people who don’t care and who have no reason to…

He curled forwards and buried his face in a pillow, quietly crying into the musty, pine-dirt-and-damp-feather smelling thing. He tried so hard to catch those last bits of happiness, but it didn’t take long before his standard cynicism and cold-heartedness came right back, rushing in and mocking him. You thought. You thought someone cared, someone actually wanted to see you happy? You thought there was a happy place for you. A shame Daniel didn’t make you drink that kool-aid! You’d’ve died happy! Everything was perfect when… When he didn’t have to deal with anything.

Footsteps on grass alerted him to someone coming over, and when he looked up, for the first moment he was blinded by the light streaming into his tent- and then, there stood David- Stupid, happiness-destroying, Daniel-challenging David, with that stupid puppy look on his face, like he gave a shit or something. Rage boiled up in Max, and he hucked a shoe at David, grimace morphing this time into a snarl full of loneliness he couldn’t ever voice. The heel hit the counsellor on the lip, and David made a soft “Augh!” at the pain of it. “Max- What’s the-”

“IT’S YOUR FUCKING FAULT!” He shouted, voice cracking a little. 

David opened his mouth to say something when Max burrowed under the covers of his sleeping bag, hiding all but some of his fluffy hair. “Go away, David.”

“Max, I know hiring him was a bad move on-”

“I SAID FUCK OFF!”

Footsteps left the tent area.

Max stared at the slightly-dingy white hoodie, a dim grey in its half-under-covers state, and wrestled it off with an angry, futile noise. Stupid David. Couldn’t he see he was happy for once? Couldn’t he and Daniel have worked better together? David should have gone in too!

A pang of guilt hit him as he realized what he was really wishing for. If David hadn’t somehow gotten Daniel out of there, it’d be eleven dead kids and probably one dead counsellor too. And he and Nikki and Neil had all gone demanding David remove him, too, so it’s not like David had really been told to stop, either. He just couldn’t help but feel he had something stolen from him, something he’d never really get back, and he let out a brief, bitter laugh at his own stupidity. Look at him, miserable, curled up in a sleeping bag, holding onto fond memories of being brainwashed by a fucking cult. He was so fucking stupid and desperate. Guess emotions really do win.

Footsteps came up to the tent again, and Max sat up, gritting his teeth. “I SAID FUCK OFF! I WILL MURDER YOU, DAVID!”

“It’s not David,” came Nurf’s voice, and Max blinked in surprise. Nurf’s voice was followed by the rest of Nurf, and the much bigger kid sat with a heavy sigh. 

“Oh.” Max didn’t have much to say to that, and fiddled with the sleeping bag drawstring. “What do you want? Can’t you wait until I’m outside the tent to give me a wedgie or something?”

“Sure. But I wanted to see that you were doing ok.” Despite Max’s suspicions, the bully genuinely didn’t seem to have any bad intentions or drawn knives, so he just stayed quiet.

“When, uh, Daniel got to you…” Nurf looked at his hands, rubbing one arm a little awkwardly. “It was like, you were really, really happy, right? Like flying on clouds? That was probably just the flower, or something in it, you know. It wasn’t real happiness.”

That took Max by surprise, though only for a moment. He knew it wasn’t only him who probably would’ve been affected like that, but hearing someone else say it… He couldn’t tell if it made it more real, or just more painful, that the happiest he'd been was a lie. Either way, he just looked down at his own sleeping bag and grunted a non-committal response.

“David was just trying to help us. I mean, you went running off to him with Neil and Nikki as soon as Daniel turned his back. You guys’re the ones who dragged him back.” Another vague grunt from Max.

“Daniel didn’t really care, I don’t think. If he did, I don’t think he’d’a needed the Purification Sauna.” Nurf stood, and bumped his head on the electric lamp hanging from the point of the tent, and grumbled at it.

“Anyway. You know you’ve got people who do care, right? David does, and I think Gwen too, and if you don’t think they do, I know Nikki’s your friend, and Neil too.” He smiled a little Max’s way, and Max mumbled something. “I know it sucks, like, the biggest dick to lose someone who cares about you. But he never did.”

Nurf left. Max watched the shadow go, and then pulled the dingy white hoodie back up, looking down at it. Elbows, smudged with grass and dirt and dust, grey and brown and green. The scrunches around the wrists were now damp in addition to a soft grey-green-brown, and the back was smudged with dirt where he’d been pushed over as Gwen and Harrison had made their escape. He rubbed the fabric between his fingers, and pressed the soft, bleached-white hoodie up to his face, curling his knees up. It was still warm, and felt like a hug, in its own way. But, soon enough, the warmth was fading, and the charm was going with it. 

He got up and retrieved a fresh hoodie, sliding it over himself and folding up the bleached one. He put it away, in the bottom of his duffel bag, and checked there were no signs of his little crying session in the reflection of one of Niel’s electronics. Once the red-rims on his eyes had faded, Max wandered out to go and see his friends again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that'll probably be it! It was fun to write, but I never intended it to go on for very long. I hope everything was in-character, as this was my first Camp Camp fic, but I do think I will be writing more.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> The implied drug use is the Borrachero flower, which looks a little like the angel's trumpet. Borrachero is apparently somehow turned into Devil's Breath, a mind-altering drug that makes one more compliant. Angel's Trumpet is also known for its hallucinogenic properties, as well as extreme toxicity, different parts and methods of interaction differing between the species. These were my explanation for why the kids were converted so quickly- though, as we all know, cartoon magic can... Apparently stretch seconds, as well, so to Max, perhaps it wasn't half a minute.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated, and comments are the most surefire way to see more content!


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